The fourteenth of February
by Torie Rilistkrytcat
Summary: Oneshot. Heather loathes valentine's day, and despite everyone else getting into the spirit, she's adamant that it's going to be a nightmare. However, a mystery card, an intern and a rather sudden revelation might just redeem the day for her. Set during TDWT, Aleheather.


**Disclaimer: I don't own the right to total drama.**

**AN: I really wanted to do a piece for valentine's day, and I wanted to get the dates right. This is set between _Sweden Sour_ and _Niagra Brawls_, because I checked out dates, and figured out that if Cody's Birthday is April 1st, then _Aww_ _Drumheller_ is set on the 1st of April, which means that _Hawaiian style_, which I assume to be filmed on around the same day as the contestants are in Drumheller, is also on April 1st. In _Hawaiian style_, Bridgette reveals that it's been at least 44 days since _Aftermath Aftermayhem_, which means that would have been the 15th of February in a non-leap year, which means that- if assuming _Aftermath, Aftermayhem_ was filmed between _Sweden sour_ and _Niagra Brawls_ and there were a couple of days between those two episodes- valentine's day would be the day after the contestants were in Sweden.**

**PLUS: (PLEASE READ) I apologise for any random word orders or typos, but I typed this on my IPad whicradomes random autocorrects and stuff.**

* * *

Though it was still technically winter, a little warmth had begun seeping into the air- that was, when the contestants finally left the iciness of Sweden. With a few days between challenges this time, while Chris organised some upcoming twist or something, it gave the contestants a short time to unwind and relax, knowing that they still remained in the running for a million dollars for the time being. However, tension returned when Sierra began gushing and hinting to Cody about a certain holiday that was coming up...

_Valentine's day_.

Insert barf here.

Heather had always despised the frivolity of valentine's day; the gaudy pink decorations, the sickly sweetness, the pointless and overpriced candies... It was a nightmare. She hadn't really thought about it much, but now she was disgusted. Sierra procured rather ugly homemade decorations- mostly consisting of badly drawn pink hearts with Cody's face in the middle- and hung them lavishly from every orifice. Heather hoped someone would join her campaign in tearing them down, but to her disgust, everyone else- even Duncan, surprisingly- seemed weirdly enthusiastic abut the holiday.

Courtney began whining to anyone who'd listen (which was coincidentally every time Alejandro walked in the room) about how much she loved cards on valentine's day, Duncan began crafting a rather gory-looking card in the shape of a human heart, spurting blood, to send to Gwen, while Owen rambled on about the time he ate five boxes of chocolate candies last year, and Izzy swore that "his fart was in the shape of a love heart."

The whole effect made Heather want to vomit, and she was dreading the coming event excessively. She'd expected a small dose of sympathy from Cody, who she was sure would be dreading Sierra's inevitable affections, but he was evidently not over Gwen; he was often caught out doodling her face, surrounded by hearts. Finally, the night before the event, when Sierra bEgan reciting the latest draft of the poem she was writing to Cody, Heather snapped.

"_What is it with you losers and this stupid holiday_?" She yelled, voice carrying around the whole compartment, so that every eye was on her all of a sudden. She didn't care; with a flourish, she violently ripped one of the pink streamers Sierra had stapped to the ceiling down and hurled it across the room.

"You're all being SO annoying!" She snapped, folding her arms, eyes blazing with irritation at the assembled people. Sure, she was overreacting, but this had really been getting on her nerves. She threw her hands up in heavily dramatized gestures as she ranted to them.

"Valentines this, cards that... Ugh, you are all being even more stupid than usual!"

Courtney gave her a haughty look, sticking her nose up in the air. "You're just jealous because you don't have a boyfriend!" she sniffed, her whiny voice getting under Heather's skin even more than usual.

"Neither do YOU." Heather reminded her viciously. Courtney's eyes narrowed, before flicking over to Alejandro with a possessive stare. Rage- rage that Heather told herself was purely due to Courtney's aggravating nature and not jealousy- boiled up in her, and she clenched her fists before turning on her heel and storming out to the confessional toilet. She didn't even know if this saga would be televised, but she had a bucketload of ranting to do.

* * *

When the wretched day dawned, Heather awoke- painfully sore (Unfairly, team Chris had been allowed more time than usual in first class while Chris organised the next destination, so Team Amazon had been delegated to the dusty, damp benches of economy class) and early to the sounds of Sierra squealing. Unwillingly opening her eyes, she scowled at the sight; Sierra was grinning inhumanly as she clutched Cody to her chest like a limp doll, forcing a revoltingly sparkly card into his hand. Smoothing down her crumpled khaki shorts, she gave a derisive glance to the bench across her; Courtney was carefully patting her hair as she squinted into a mirror. Heather thought bitterly that Courtney's reflection should have made her scream in horror, however the CIT gave a smug little simpler and snapped the compact shut. Heather's stomach gave a churn of contempt; she had a rather good idea of who Courtney was preening herself for.

Sure enough, the recent object of Courtney's affections strode arrogantly into economy class, receiving a scowl of sullen loathing from Heather, whose eyes narrowed when she saw something clutched in his tanned fist.

"Wishing you ALL a happy valentine's day." He purred, brandishing three garish, pink envelopes. Sierra, who had been showering Cody with less-than-welcome kisses, looked at them greedily (even if she didn't like Alejandro, the idea of receiving a valentine from someone was still welcomed), Courtney giggled in an almost hysterical manner, and Heather held in vomit at the scene. Three envelopes... That meant one for her... She mentally cursed. Stupid Alejandro...

The spaniard, with a charming smirk, handed an envelope to aflushing Courtney, who eagerly opened the card. Sierra, still clinging on to Cody, took hers with a little less ease.

"I jus want to say- I'm a one Cody woman," She warned him snottily, eyes narrowed.

"Of course." Alejandro assured her. "This is merely out of friendship."

Sierra looked minutely suspicious, but her face lapsed into a satisfied and curious look as she eagerly opened the gaudy card. Alejandro turned his blazing eyes across to Heather, whose lip curled.

"Saving the best and most beautiful for last." He teased, holding out the envelope. Heather was delighted to see how quickly Courtney's smile flipped into a jealous snarl at this remark. However, she batted the valentine away.

"I don't need a stupid card." she informed him brusquely, turning her back on him to avoid changing her mind-she was not going to conform to petty rubbish and accept the card.

"But Heather- you know you want it." He smirked at her, winking. Heather gave a threatening growl as he waved the envelope irritatingly in her face. She snatched it from him, and for a moment he looked triumphant- until she tossed it firmly across the room.

"I don't want a valentine." She repeated,voice growing louder and eyes blazing angrily. She hated the whole concept of the day- love was just so... Stupid to her- and she did NOT need Alejandro trying his hardest to aggravate her. He was the one person she really lost control around, and she despised him for that, hated every inch of him from his leather boots to his ever-amused eyes. She pivoted fiercely, blocking him with her back with an or-else finality. With a bored sigh, Alejandro retrieved the valentine and tucked it into his belt, before strutting out. Heather watched him leave with what may have been regret (it had been years since she'd felt remorse, and the emotion was distant to her) but it passed, and she found herself glowering after him.

"Thanks a LOT, _Heather_." Courtney accused from, looking sourly at Heather. "He was gping to ask me out- I could FEEL it."

Heather's teeth gritted, and her head snapped around to face CoUrtney.

"Oh, Get over yourself. " She scoffed bluntly, with slight hypocrism; she wasn't exactly the most modest person. Once again, rage was erupting in her at Courtney. However, she wasn't in the mood to pick a fight, so before Courtney could rebutt her, she stalked out to get breakfast. As she exited, she felt a familiar mocking gaze on her- Alejandro was leaning against the wall casually, one eyebrow raised. She ignored him, stomping into the pathetic kitchen to see if Owen had left any food in there. To her irritation, the food-loving boy had already got there; scraps were strewn across the counter, the fridge door hanging open, and a stack of dirty plates were stacked dangerously in the sink. Heather ground her teeth, a growl emitting in her throat. She'd been awake a maximum of twenty minutes, and already this day was shaping out t be awful.

* * *

With a not-so-full stomach, Heather stomped back to economy and slumped down on the bench. A moment later, she shot up; she'd sat on something hard. A thick but mercifully plain, white envelope sat, standing out dramatically against the dirty, stained grey of the seat. Staring up at her in unfamiliar cursive, her name was spelled across the front in red ink; it was a valentine's day card.

This really bugged Heather.

"WHO," She screeched loudly. "Put a -CENSORED- Valentine card on my seat?"

SIerra, who was busily crafting a rose out of tissue paper, shrugged.

"Courtney?" Heather begrudgingly addressed the CIT. "Did you see anyone put this here?"

Courtney shook her head lightly. "No one came in after you left." she sniffed, before returning to re-reading the valentine she'd received.

Heather gave an irritated groan. A MYSTERY valentine- how cliché. The sort of tacky thing she hated with a vengeance, of course. Hated... the word clicked in her brain, and she narrowed her eyes. There was an obvious culprit, someone who had tried to force a valentine on her earlier... She was going to figure out who gave her the stupid valentine and ram it back down their throats, even if she had to interrogate every stupid guy on the plane. She swept up angrily, preparing to attack any boy who crossed her path for information. And she had a rather large suspicion of who would find it hilarious to infuriate her as much as possible...

A moment later, she was rounding on Alejandro in the hall.

"I told you I didn't WANT a valentine." She hissed at him, shoving the white card in his face, which rippled with confusion. "You can take your stupid note back..."

His face displayed a wide degree of innocence that threw Heather for a moment, but she refused to be fooled. "But Heather- I didn't give you this. Of course, if you do wan a valentine from me... " His hand twitched towards the pink note he'd attempted to give her earlier. Heather's eyes narrowed, and she scrutinized him for a moment.

"I don't believe you." She accused. However, the handwriting on the valentine she'd been given earlier didn't match up, and it DID seem like the sort of thing Alejandro would brag about... With a furious snarl, she withdrew.

"Oh- you are LUCKY it wasn't you who gave me this," She threatned, waving the note in the air. "If you had, you would be dead. And if I get one sniff that you gave this to me..."

He winked at her. With a furious sniff, she tottered down the hall. However, she was confused. Alejandro had seemed like the obvious one to give her a valentine, liked for once he genuinely appeared innocent. She still wasn't entirely trusting, but with an air of disdain she ripped open the valentine- that was likely to give her some kind of clue as to who'd forced it on her.

_Heather. I've never told you this, but I've always found you beautiful ever since I've met you. I know you wouldn't look at me twice, but I've always noticed you. Will you be my valentine?_

Heather snorted at the huge dishing of sap, but her mind reeled a little. Who the hell could have given this to her? If Alejandro was innocent, then that left Owen, Cody and Duncan. Owen was instantly eliminated-there was no mention of food in the card, and he was infatuated with Izzy anyway- and Cody's obsession with Gwen, coupled with the fact that Sierra never let him out her sight, rendered him unlikely. That left... Duncan? Heather let out an audiblescoff, which caused Sierra to give her a questioning look. There was no way Duncan had sent her the valentine. There had to be something more than that...

Her trailed thoughts were interrupted by a slight cough; Heather looked up to see an intern- a new one, presumably, since Interns rarely lasted long- standing in the room, holding a tray with four tasteful-looking valentine chocolates. As she ran her eyes fleetingly over him, she felt a sligh twinge of girlish approval- he was, as interns went, rather attractive- more toned than the usual gangly interns, with blonde hair and very, very blue eyes, clad brown down intern-shirt. He looked sort of like a male version of Lindsay, and Heather vaguely remembered seeing him around, though she hadn't paid much attention. Usually, the interns that hung around were the same three; the dark skinned one, the blonde with a monobrow, and the other one-Billy, was it? She usually blanked over them. However, this guy was actually worth paying attention to.

"Excuse me, but I have these for you." He informed her, holding out the valentine chocolate. Heather, who secretly adored indulging in chocolate, automatically reached out to take them, but her eyes narrowed as suspicion kicked in.

"Who are they from?" She demanded. The intern actually smiled at her.

"I'm not to say." He told her, before winking and thrusting them ino her hands. Heather looked down at them, then back at him, a tiny seed planted in her mind.

_Did this guy give me the card?_

It seemed unlikely- she barely knew him- but curiosity piqued. Sure, she didn't actually know him, but if she had to receive a secret valentine- hey, she could do worse. He was really good looking; Courtney, and even Sierra's eyes were trained n him as he exited. However, the moment had to be ruined.

"I think those chocolates are for me," Courtney piped up loudly, earning a glare from Heather. "Probably from Ale-_hunk_-dro."

Her confidence in Alejandro's alleged crush on her left a small sting in Heather, but her mind was still reeling. That guy was actually decent, and though she was adamant against becoming all girlish and gushy, it was a nice gesture. Sniffing a chocolate to see if it was okay, and not poisoned by Alejandro or anything, she slipped one in her mouth, chewing it slowly just to see the envy on Courtney's face. The day was starting to pick up, despite her predictions...

* * *

The intern, to her shock and slight flattery, returned later in the day; this time with large valentine lollipops, stating that they were "courtsey of Chris." Heather found this hard to believe (seriously, Chris taking an interest in the contestants?), especially when Sierra began spouting a non-stop stream of facts about how much Chris hated Valentine's day, ever since his girlfriend in 1992 had dumped him day that day for his rival chess-club president... Heather tuned out at Sierra's scarily detailed facts, instead focusing her attention on the intern, who handed out the lollipops to the grateful girls, giving the noticeably largest to Heather with another friendly smile. He asked her in a friendly tone how her day had been going; she responded in an attempt to sound indiffent, however despite herself, a blush spread across her cheeks (though it was more out of intense flattery than genuine love or affectipn) After cheerfully bidding Heather goodbye, Courtney watched the intern leave looking slightly jealous. She tried to straighten herself out a little, but the principle of it spread a certain warmth throughout her body; it was nice for a guy to finally treat her well...

"That intern seems to really like Heather." She heard Cody remark to Sierra, and a satisfied, smug-smile spread across her face.

However, that amount of satisfaction was nothing close to her excitement when, after vacating the dingy economy classcabin for the equally- if not worse- confessional in a desperate attempt to escape the pathetic, fifteen-stanza poem entitled "The ballad of Cody-Wody" Sierra was now reciting, she returned to find that not only had Sierra mercifully finished, (She was looking incredibly pleased with herself, though Cody looked mortified) but another white card with her name emblazoned across the front was waiting for her. Heart picking up a little, she snatched it off the seat and gazed at it in the fading light-the rather unproductive day was drawing to a close, and the dirty windows now displayed a multitude of stars as they jerkily flew past.

_Heather, if you want to know who I am, then meet me in the cargo bay before the day is over._

She felt fickle, but her black heart did an uncharacteristic somersault. She reminded herself that she barely knew the guy, and wasn't entirely sure that it was he who sent the valentine. Her mind was torn- it was a stupid and very un Heather-esque to go gushy about a stupid intern she'd only known for a day. The heartless bitch in her was screaming from its dominant hold in her mind, telling her that she should crumple the valentine up; who cared what a loser intern thought of her? But curiosity raged on fiercely, and she couldn't help herself. Sierra was currently next to her, doodling Cody in a love-heart costume, and she gingerly tapped the purple-haired stalker on the shoulder.

"Hey- did you see who left this note?"

Sierra barely looked up. "That intern guy." She informed Heather, her tone implying it was the most obvious thing in the world. Heather's eyes widened, and despite herself she shot up. Hell, she was going to find out why this intern liked her so much anyway, despite the indifference she'd sworn. He had, after all, been nice to her, something that rarely happened to Heather, and as her cork heels clicked across the floor with slight echoes, she let a smile slip onto her usually scowling face.

* * *

As she approached the large and oppressive cargo bay doors, Heather mentally debated whether or nt to enter. It seemed so abnormal for her- to give in to a piece of romantic junk- but somehow, this felt almost obligatory. It was as though something was telling her to do this. Shoving the oppressive door aside, her skin seeming strange and pearlescent against the darkness, she found herself staring into the all-too familiar maze of boxes and cargo. The shadows were deep, the only light being a pathetic crack in the door casting a tiny chink across the floor- however, she could see a person's shadow across from her.

"Hello, Heather."

A jolt of horror ripped through her as the person- the one who'd been sending her valentines- spoke. It was not the friendly voice of the intern who'd been paying her attention earlier; this voice was smoother, and hideously familiar...

"No." The word burst from her shocked lips, and she wanted to kick herself. How could she be so STUPID- she should have known... She'd underestimated him. This was a nightmare; she'd expected a doting intern, and had been presented with her worst enemy; he'd tricked her, and humiliation washed through her- he would be so smug that Heather had fallen for it...

"I knew you were going to turn up." He said, his voice triumphant; she felt a sting of injustice, as though she'd been slapped in the face.

"YOU." She hissed into the faint outline. "You bastard!"

His laugh seemed to echo, drilling into her head.

"I thought-"

"I know- you thought I'd be an intern, didn't you?" Alejandro tutted. "I had to convince you it wasn't me who sent you those things. He was a passable decoy. After all- I could hardly use Owen or Duncan."

Heather gritted her teeth at how conversational he was sounding. "No," She snapped, her sarcasm sounding hysterical with anger. "After all, you had to make everything perfect to humiliate me."

"I knew you'd take this badly." He scoffed at her.

That sentence pushed Heather over the edge.

"TAKE IT BADLY?" She shrieked at him- it was a weird sensation, yelling at someone you couldn't see, but she didn't care. She hated him with a vengeance right now- she'd fallen for this, got her expectations up, only to find out that Alejandro had set her up- he must have been so pleased...

"You set me up!" She accused viciously. "You tricked me into thinking that there was actually one good-looking guy in the whole world who didn't hate me!" The whole experience reopened old wounds for Heather, memories she'd tried to conceal floating to the surface of her mind; a little black haired girl, pushed around because she wasn't as pretty, the only one in the whole class who didn't receive a valentine in her little pink box on valentine's day, the only teenage girl without a date to the valentine dance having been turned down by every single person, even after she'd bloomed into a stunning young adult- the whole reason why she hated valentine's day was that for her, it was a time when she'd be the laughing stock of everyone else, the time when she was shown up and left humiliated and heartbroken while everyone else was happy.

And, thanks to Alejandro, it had happened again.

Still, she could rise above it. Instead of staying to argue, she turned on her heel and began to stomp out the room, wanting nothing more than to get away from Alejandro; she hated him, despised him...

He grabbed her arm suddenly before she could leave, desperate to give his side of the story; it hindered her, and she stumbled back with a jerk. She could just make out his face now; he was giving her an unexplicable expression. She let out a furious snarl, trying to yank her wrist out his grip.

"Get off me, you jerk." She yelled, tugging her arm hopelessly, seething with rage at the spaniard; what did he want now? To rub salt into the wound- laud it over her that he'd managed to beat her once again. She didn't need this from him...

"No." He pulled her back firmly; she clawed at him, trying to shove him away.

"Heather- _stop hitting me_," He commanded, as she threw her fists into his chest, snarling a slur of insults. Heather refused to oblige; her stream of violence ceased only when he grabbed her hands, contracting her fingers with his own so Heather was unable to hit him. Her eyes narrowed at him, and she elbowed him once more for effect in the chest. He rolled his eyes.

"Stop acting so childish, Heather. Hear me out-"

"Why?" Heather sneered. "So you can laud it over me again?"

It was a fair accusation, Alejandro had to admit, but for the moment it was actually untrue, and he would never admit his own arrogance. Instead, he gave her an affronted look; she glared back, daggers emitting from her eyes.

"You are a very stubborn _chica_." he scowled at her. "What if I wasn't trying to offend you?"

"Uh- when have you NOT tried to show me up?" she growled at him. His face rippled for a brief second, then he released her. Heather ripped away and, giving him a filthy look, stomped away. He did have something he'd intended to say, but it was clear that Heather was set against him, so- for once in his life- he didn't push it. Heather broke into a furious run as she returned to the cabin, stinging with anger. She passed the same intern Alejandro had used as a "decoy" before, intentionally shoving him with her shoulder as she passed him; it gave her a sick satisfaction to see hm stumble into the wall, before muttering that it hadn't been his idea to give her the valentine and giving her an angry glare. Really, she thought as she strutted away, he wasn't that good looking anyway.

* * *

Returning to economy was horrible for Heather. The moment Sierra opened her mouth and began to query where Heather had been she blew up at the girl, telling her to mind her own damn business. The valentine cards were still tucked in her belt; she pulled them out, and began to shred them with a vengeance, taking out her fury on the white slips of paper. The tormenting memories of another rotten valentine's day replayed in her head, as though on a loop; _she'd been acting stupid and girly earlier; she'd got her hopes up; she'd fallen for another one of Alejandro's cruel set-ups..._

"Well, look who it is, Heather." Courtney interrupted the queen bee's thoughts, indicating with her head; the stupid intern had returned, and Heather recognized another white valentine card n his hand. Now he wasn't acting on Alejandro's orders and pretending to like Heather, he didn't seem friendy; with a bored look he held out the card to her. She felt a strong desire to kick something at the sight; what did Alejandro want now.

"Tell him I don't want it." She ordered intimidatingly at him, turning away from the card. However the intern gruffly shoved it into her hands before lumbering away. Heather dropped it automatically without reading it; she didn't want anything from Alejandro, whether or not it was lauding his victory over her or a fake apology. The others were staring at her in evident confusion; earlier she'd seemed to like the intern, and they were all sure that he'd been the one giving her the valentine cards.

"So, wasn't he your type?" Courtney scoffed, her tone and the epression on her rather haughty tanned face thick with implications that Heather was fickle. The temptation rose on her tongue to tell Courtney who had really sent the valentines to her, but it flicked out of her mind; if she did, she would have to explain that Alejandro had-or, she presumed he had- only done it to aggravate and degrade Heather, and she wound never admit anything of the kind to Courtney, Courtney who would most likely mock her about it. Instead she leaned angrily against the wall, surveying the room with the kind of glare that illustrated to the other team amazons in the room that if they crossed her she'd disembowel them.

The last card she'd received lay on the floor; she made a mental note to shred it sometime in the future. Sierra was snivelling in the corner, having not received a valentine from Cody, but a pregnant silence had fallen on the corridor-like room. It was a time like this that Heather missed the pathetic distractions of home- books, television and computers; she needed something to hide behind, something to take away the awkwardness in the room. Her mind strayed onto what Team Chris is Really Really Really Really Hot was doing up in the luxury of first class, but that brought the image of the lying idiot Alejandro into her head, so she shoved it out. This had been an awful day- she wished it hadn't happened...

The time dragged; eventually, her teammates fell into a surprisingly deep sleep for three people on a death-trap plane (they must have adapted). However, Heather remained awake. Part of her felt she was overreacting, but she was still fuming, and a small part of her buried deep in her chest was aching. It wasn't so much the intern- she didn't really like him, after all- but more the principle. She recalled her disapproval when Bridgette, LeShawna and now Courtney fell for Alejandro and let him toy with their emotions, and yet if she'd been more observant she would have realized Alejandro was, effectively, playing her. Even if it didn't get her eliminated, it gave him the satisfaction of wounding Heather...

She stretched up and slunk towards the door. It was nearing midnight, now; she was in less danger of encountering someone she didn't want to see, so- feeling awfully awake, she decided on going for a pointless walk, to stretch her legs and get away from the stuffiness. There was a strange kind of tranquility in walking down the darkened, bland hallways alone; something that allowed her to clear her ponytailed head a little. However, turning into the common area she realized she wasn't alone. Great- just what she needed; another encounter with Alejandro. He noticed her presence immediately, and gave her a coy smile.

"You can't stay angry at me for long, can you, beautiful?"

"UGH!" Heather spat, immediately withdrawing. "You again!"

Once again she turned to leave and, for the second time that night, he stopped her.

"Heather- I would say that I am sorry for sending you the valentine, but that would be a lie."

Heater's eyes almost bugged out. She had wrongly though she'd calmed down, had the extreme anger from earlier was returning. Her pale face flushed red.

"You know, if you want to be forgiven, you're going about this the wrong way."

He gave a frustrated sigh; once again, she'd interrupted what he was about to tell her.

"-And I'm not sorry," He continued, as though Heather hadn't spoken; she braced herself, preparing to hit him again. "Because, _seniorita_, I meant it."

Heather tensed, pivoting immediately and- for the first time since she'd discovered it was him who'd sent the valentine cards- she looked at him directly in the face, her grey eyes scanning his vivid green ones to determine whether or not he was earnest. Though his usual arrogant smirk was still plastered on his face, his eyes seemed less cocky than usual... She shook her head, charcoal ponytail bouncing slightly. She couldn't be fooled again- he'd convincingly feigned innocence earlier when she'd confronted him, and she wasn't going to fall for it again. Anyway, she might have misunderstood...

"Uh-what?" she barked sharply, voice echoing slightly.

He rolled his eyes at her. "Heather, I meant every word I wrote. Believe me, it wasn't easy; I know this could mess up the game for me..."

Heather gaped at him; he seemed like a stranger with Alejandro's body and voice. There was no way he could be saying to her what she thought he was; she resisted the urge to scratch her ear in case it was blocked. Some of the anger in her dimmed, but she refused to be satisfied; Alejandro had charmed others into submission by feigning strong affection for them before.

"I'm not falling for that." She protested finally. His face, illuminated only by the rather ineffective windows, contorted into a scowl.

"Heather!" He let out something that sounded suspiciously like a Spanish curse. "Will you not listen to me? I thought that the lengths I went to today to reach you would illustrate my point!_ Te quiero_!"

Heather decided this had to be some kind of sick hallucination. This was Alejandro, Alejandro the manipulative Spanish heartbreaker... Part of her wanted to believe him, but part of her screamed not to; she HATED Alejandro; he was her enemy... Wasn't he?

For a moment even he looked shocked at himself- he could barely believe he had just said that, to Heather of all people- but he fixed Heather with a serious gaze. It seemed like something out of a pathetic romance novel gone wrong- a guy confessing his love to someone on valentine's day- but the girl was scowling at him, and they were in the most pathetic plane ever built, two people who were each other's sworn enemy.

Finally, Heather's stubborn nature compelled her to speak.

"Prove it." She sniffed haughtily, folding her arms.

He fought back another curse- Heather was so difficult- but shrugged.

"If you insist." He told her- then, without hesitation, he kissed her.

It was weird, sudden and confused the hell out of Heather- not necessarily what someone dreamed a first kiss to be. Heather was wrestling inside; the part of her that loathed Alejandro was locked in combat with the weird, impending attraction she'd felt. However, for just a second, the attraction toppled the hate and, for the first time in her life, she was actually feeling more than superior contempt for someone. Then, despite herself and the ridiculous haste of the turn of events, she was kissing him back. He seemed genuine- to genuinely want to touch her, and when she finally came to her senses and ripped away, he looked disgustingly triumphant. Ugh- she hated him so much...

"Do you believe me, now?" He demanded, with a trademark smirk. Heather shook her head.

"Pfft- No." She responded, tossing her hair in an attempt to cover up the blushing facial expression she wore. Alejandro clicked his tongue irritably.

"Always the cynic, Heather..." But both his and Heather's moods had lifted a little. Heather hated herself for it, but she found it hard to feel as vigilant towards him as she had earlier. Something inside her seemed to tell her that he really did mean what he said, though she still had trouble believing it. Alejandro's eyes flickered down to his watch, and he squinted at it in the dim light. "Well, I believe there are two minutes left of Valentine's day. Heather, I'll ask you one more time-" He gave her a sly look. "Will you be my Valen-"

"Ew, don't say it! It's so stupid and cheesy!" Heather protested angrily. "I hate Valentine's day- it's always so stupid and pointless."

"It doesn't have to be,"Alejandro told her smoothly, eyes gleaming. "I do know a way to redeem this day-"

"What's that?" Heather asked dully. He winked at her.

"Kiss me again."

And for the first time ever, Heather obliged him.

* * *

**ugh. You know, I'm actually REALLY DISAPPOINTED with how that turned out- I think it's a little too rushed and super-cheesy at the end. Still, I really wanted to write this, so... Yeah. Reviews are like roses andcandy on valentine's day; you don't really NEED them, but it makes everything seem better. :)**


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